Heat Pump Installation and Oil Conversions in Windham, NH
One system, both seasons, off the oil truck
What this work is
A heat pump heats your house in winter and cools it in summer using one system that moves heat instead of burning fuel, and in southern New Hampshire it is the most common way homeowners are getting off oil right now.
The mechanics are simple even though the marketing makes them sound exotic. In summer the system pulls heat out of your house and dumps it outside, which is what an air conditioner already does. In winter it runs the same cycle backwards, pulling heat out of the outdoor air and bringing it inside. There is usable heat in cold air, and a cold climate unit is built to find it.
Two shapes cover almost every house here. Ductless, which is a mini split with one or more indoor heads, and ducted, which uses an air handler and the ductwork you already have. If your house has good duct in a conditioned space, a ducted heat pump can replace a furnace and a central air condenser in one move. If the duct is undersized, leaky or running through a cold attic, that gets addressed first or the system never performs the way the label says it will.
Six years co-owning an oil company means the conversion conversation is an honest one. Oil is not automatically the villain and a heat pump is not automatically the answer. A ten year old boiler in good shape with a well insulated house is a different case from a 1988 oil furnace in a house with original windows. You will hear which one you have.
Backup heat is the part most quotes skip. A whole home heat pump in New Hampshire needs a plan for the coldest days, whether that is keeping the existing boiler, electric strip heat in the air handler, or accepting a small drop on the two worst weeks of the year. That plan gets decided with you, before install, not discovered in February.
What it costs
What this costs in southern New Hampshire
Nobody in this county publishes a number, which is exactly why these are here. The figures below are what the market charges, gathered from published cost data rather than from a quote sheet. Your house sets the final number, and you hear it before anything starts.
| Typical project | Published market range |
|---|---|
| Ductless heat pump, single zoneThe starting point for supplemental heating and cooling in one or two rooms. | $3,500 to $7,000 |
| Whole house, multi zone ductlessThree zone systems are commonly reported at $8,000 to $14,000. | $8,000 to $18,000 |
| New Hampshire average, all sizesAcross a reported spread of $2,300 to $16,100. | $4,600 |
Market data compiled July 30, 2026 from national and regional cost aggregators, including HomeGuide, Angi, Filterbuy and NuWatt. Northeast installs run roughly 15 percent above the national figure. Rebates come off these numbers, and they are listed below. These are market ranges, not our rates.
What moves the number on your house
- Whole house or supplemental
- Replacing your primary heat is a much bigger project than adding a heat pump to handle a few rooms and the summer load.
- Ducted or ductless
- Ducted systems use an air handler and existing duct. Ductless uses indoor heads. Which one fits depends on your house, not on preference.
- The condition of your ductwork
- Existing duct that is properly sized and sealed keeps the job simple. Duct that leaks into an attic, or that was sized for a furnace and not for a heat pump, needs work first.
- Electrical service
- Heat pumps and especially electric backup heat draw real current. A 100 amp service in an older house sometimes needs an upgrade, and that belongs in the number up front.
- Your backup heat plan
- Keeping the boiler costs nothing extra. Adding electric strip heat, or replacing the boiler at the same time, changes the project.
- Removal and disposal
- Taking out an old furnace, boiler or oil tank, and disposing of it properly, is part of many conversions.
Rebates move the real number, and the paperwork is part of the job. Ask about current NHSaves terms when you get the estimate, and you will get the honest before and after figure rather than the brochure one.
Repair or Replace? Read This First
What you get out of it
Heat pump installation, replacement and service for southern New Hampshire homes, including oil to heat pump conversions from someone who spent six years in the oil business.
- One system covers heating and cooling, so there is one thing to maintain
- No combustion, no flue, no fuel delivery to schedule
- Cold climate models are rated for real New Hampshire winter temperatures
- Works alongside an existing boiler as a hybrid setup
- NHSaves rebates apply to qualifying cold climate systems
- An oil background means the conversion math is explained straight, both ways
The 2026 reality
What you can still get back on a heat pump this year
The federal credit expired and the New Hampshire rebates did not. Most of the heat pump advice on the web still has this backwards, so here is the position as of July 2026, with the numbers and where they come from.
| Program | 2026 value | What it applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Federal 25C tax creditExpired December 31, 2025 | $0 | The credit worth up to $2,000 on a qualifying heat pump ended for installations after December 31, 2025. Any article still promising it is out of date. |
| NHSaves cold climate rebate, standard | $250 per ton, up to $1,250 | For switching off oil, propane or natural gas heat to a qualifying cold climate system. |
| NHSaves cold climate rebate, enhancedIncreased March 23, 2026 | $2,000 per ton, up to $10,000 | For switching off electric resistance heat. The rate was $1,250 per ton until March 22, 2026 and rose to $2,000 per ton on March 23. The five ton per account limit is what sets the ceiling. Pre verification is part of the process. |
| New England Heat Pump Accelerator | $650 per outdoor unit | A point of sale discount on qualifying cold climate equipment under 5.4 tons, and it stacks on top of the NHSaves rebate rather than replacing it. |
NHSaves rebate figures were read directly from the NHSaves residential heating and cooling rebate page on July 31, 2026, where the enhanced rate is listed at $2,000 per ton from March 23, 2026 and the standard rebate at $250 per ton, both limited to five tons per account. Rebate programs change during the year. Confirm current terms at nhsaves.com before you budget around a number, and ask about the paperwork when you get your estimate. nhsaves.com
Heat Pumps, answered
- Is it worth converting from oil to a heat pump?
- Sometimes yes and sometimes no, and it depends on three things. How old and how efficient your current system is, how well the house holds heat, and what your electric and fuel costs look like. A boiler with years of life left in a tight house is usually worth keeping and pairing with ductless for cooling and shoulder seasons. A tired oil furnace in a leaky house is a strong conversion candidate. You will get told which one you have, including when the answer is to keep what you own.
- Do heat pumps still work when it is below zero?
- Cold climate models do. They lose capacity as the temperature drops, which is normal physics and not a defect, so sizing and the backup plan matter. A properly specified system carries the house through a normal New Hampshire winter, and the coldest few days are covered by whatever backup you chose.
- Is the federal heat pump tax credit still available in 2026?
- No. The federal 25C energy efficient home improvement credit, the one worth up to $2,000 on a qualifying heat pump, expired on December 31, 2025. A lot of published guidance still says otherwise. New Hampshire's NHSaves rebates are separate and are still running: $250 per ton up to $1,250 coming off oil, gas or propane, or $2,000 per ton up to $10,000 replacing electric resistance heat with pre approval. A New England Heat Pump Accelerator incentive of $650 per outdoor unit sits on top. Confirm current terms at nhsaves.com before budgeting.
- Can I keep my boiler and add a heat pump?
- Yes, and that hybrid setup is one of the most sensible things you can do in this climate. The heat pump handles most of the year at lower running cost, and the boiler covers the deep cold and your hot water. It also means you are never without heat while you get comfortable with the new system.
- What size heat pump does my house need?
- The size comes from a load calculation, not from a rule of thumb per square foot. Insulation, window area, air sealing, ceiling height and layout all move the number. Oversizing is the more common mistake and it causes short cycling, poor dehumidification and a shorter equipment life.
Last updated 2026-07-30
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- Years in HVAC
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- Years co-owning an oil company
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